LA PAZ, Bolivia -- Former Bolivian President Evo Morales said Monday that he was headed for Mexico after being granted asylum there, as his supporters and foes clashed on the streets of the capital after his resignation and an opposition leader laid out a possible path toward new elections.
Morales stepped down Sunday after weeks of protests, but the resignation of every constitutionally designated successor left unclear who will take his place and how.
Angry supporters of the socialist leader set barricades ablaze to block some roads leading to the country's main airport as tension gripped the nation, while his foes blocked most of the streets leading to the country's main square in front of Congress and the presidential palace.
Morales tweeted that he was leaving Monday evening, and Mexico's Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard confirmed in a tweet that Morales was on a plane sent by Mexico City.
"I am leaving for Mexico, grateful for the openness of these brothers who offered us asylum to protect our life," Morales tweeted. "It hurts me to leave the country, for political reasons, but I will always be concerned. I will return soon, with more strength and energy."
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Amid the power vacuum, opposition politician and Senate second vice president Jeanine Anez said in an address that she would take temporary control of the Senate, but it was unclear if she would need approval from the national assembly, which is controlled by Morales supporters.
She also said she would convene a legislative session today to consider accepting the formal resignation of Morales, and that new presidential elections could soon follow. It was unclear, however, if the national assembly could meet that soon because of the continuing insecurity in the capital.
As tensions grew, local media reported that Morales supporters were marching down from the nearby city of El Alto, a Morales stronghold, to try to break the street blockades thrown up by his opponents and reach the main square of La Paz. Worried about a possible escalation in the violence, the armed forces agreed to work alongside police.
The joint operation would "avoid bloodshed and mourning of the Bolivian family," the head of Bolivia's armed forces, Gen. Williams Kaliman, said in a televised address. He also called on Bolivians to help restore peace.
Earlier, Morales lashed out at his political opponents, calling it a return to the bleak era of coups d'etat overseen by Latin American militaries that long dominated the region. "[Opponents] lie and try to blame us for the chaos and violence that they provoked," Morales tweeted Monday.
His nearly 14-year presidency abruptly ended Sunday, hours after he had accepted calls for a new election by an Organization of American States team that found a "heap of observed irregularities" in the Oct. 20 election that showed Morales getting just enough votes to avoid a runoff against a united opposition.
Morales stepped aside only after the military chief, Gen. Williams Kaliman, called on him to quit to allow the restoration of peace and stability.
His vice president also resigned as did the Senate president, who was next in line. The only other official listed by the constitution as a successor, the head of the lower house, had resigned earlier.
Bolivian opposition leader Carlos Mesa said Morales was brought down by a popular uprising, not the military, countering Morales' claim he was the victim of a coup. The military made a decision not to deploy in the streets because "they didn't want to take lives," Mesa said.
The first member of Bolivia's indigenous population to become president, Morales brought unusual stability and economic progress, helping to cut poverty and inequality in the impoverished nation. He remains deeply popular among many Bolivians, and his backers have clashed with opposition demonstrators in the disturbances that followed the October vote.
The leadership crisis escalated in the hours leading up to Morales' resignation. Two government ministers in charge of mines and hydrocarbons, the Chamber of Deputies president and three other pro-government legislators announced their resignations. Some said opposition supporters had threatened their families.
In addition, the head of Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal, Maria Eugenia Choque, stepped down after the release of the Organization of American States' findings. The attorney general's office said it would investigate the tribunal's judges for possible fraud, and police later said Choque had been detained, along with 37 other officials on suspicion of electoral crimes.
Bolivia's police commander, Gen. Yuri Calderon, joined the list of resignations Monday, stepping down after allegations that police failed to curb unrest.
Information for this article was contributed by Paola Flores of The Associated Press.
A Section on 11/12/2019